PATERSON — The principal during last year's basketball recruiting scandal at Eastside High School is getting $63,756 for unused sick days as part of her recent retirement.

Karen Johnson is one of 38 district retirees collecting a total of $936,874 for accrued sick and vacation days, according to the monthly personnel report approved by the Paterson Board of Education last week.

Johnson, who started working in the Paterson district in 1979, had been on a 206-day paid medical leave prior to her retirement, which took effect July 1, according to school board records.

Johnson’s $63,756 for 90 unused sick days is the highest figure on the list of leave payments for the district’s recent batch of 38 retirees. In fact, her payout is higher than those made for unused sick time to any of the 400 district retirees during the past five years, according to public records.

School board President Oshin Castillo did not respond to a message seeking her comment for this story. The board’s vice president, Nakima Redmon, also could not be reached for comment.

Johnson could not be reached for comment for this story.

“She is being compensated in accord with her contract,” said Grace Giglio, president of the union that represents Paterson’s principals.

Under that contract, principals in Paterson get 11 sick days per year and are allowed to carry into subsequent years all sick days they do not use, Giglio said. At retirement, principals are paid for one sick day for every two they have accrued, with the maximum payment of 90 days, according to the union president.

In April 2017, an investigative report compiled for the district by former state Supreme Court Justice John E. Wallace Jr. found that some basketball players from overseas registered improperly at Eastside under Johnson’s watch and recommended that she be disciplined.

But Paterson’s superintendent at the time, Donnie Evans, said Johnson would not be disciplined because she was going to retire. The school board president at the time, Chris Irving, said Johnson was being forced to retire as a result of the Wallace report.

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After Evans resigned as superintendent, Johnson was allowed to go on medical leave for the 2017-18 school year. Johnson’s domestic partner, Eileen Shafer, succeeded Evans as Paterson's schools superintendent.

Five other district employees were punished as a result of the Wallace report, including two who were fired. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association barred Eastside’s basketball teams from this year’s state tournament because of recruiting violations cited in Wallace’s report.

Community leaders have said they do not think the recruiting scandal under Johnson’s watch would tarnish her legacy in Paterson.

“She’s always put the best interests of Paterson students first,” Mayor Andre Sayegh said in an interview in June.

Johnson’s base salary for the 2017-18 year was $156,216, according to payroll records. Her total annual pay was $170,016, including her longevity and other additional compensation, the records show.

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The sanctions against Eastside HS and basketball Juan Griles were held in place by the NJSIAA as the executive committee rejected their appeal.
Chris Pedota/NorthJersey.com